What's Behind Shut Doors
by damnmysterytome
Summary: (as requested) Carol Peletier has been married to Ed for the past decade and to say she was miserable was an understatement. She wasn't allowed to work and she couldn't have children; all she could do was stay at home. When the pipes in their kitchen burst, Carol's high school crush Daryl Dixon is the plumber they send and seeing a man that attractive awakens something in Carol.
1. Chapter One

So someone (whose username I have since lost, I'm so sorry!) requested a fic about Carol and Daryl having a love affair while she was married to Ed (I'm assuming with no apocalypse, which is how I'm going to do it). Bit of background now; Carol and Daryl had known each other in school, Daryl had always had a crush on her but never had the courage to try anything. After high school, Daryl ended up in jail for being the driver when Merle and his friends tried to rob a grocery store. When he returned home, he took a job as a plumber, called to the Peletier house after the sink backed up and Ed couldn't fix it. Unhappy with her marriage, Carol and Daryl start having an affair behind Ed's back and despite both of their better judgment. (In this, Ed's not abusive. I really don't think Carol would risk having an affair if her husband was abusive. She's just very unhappy).

Anyway, here we go! This is fairly long, so I'm separating it into several parts. I'm not sure how many parts it's going to be, probably two or three.

* * *

Carol Peletier sat in her kitchen as she waited for the plumber she had called several days before. The sinks in the kitchen and in the bathroom had been backed up for days before her husband finally gave in and let her call a plumber. Ed had tried to fix it himself but he was a mechanic, he wasn't a plumber. So she called the local plumbing company and they said they'd be out as soon as they could. Of course, that actually meant they'd be out whenever they got around to it. Carol wasn't stupid to think that they'd come right out for her. Her plumber had called that morning to tell her he'd be out and she _swore _she knew that voice. She couldn't place where she knew it from, but she knew the voice.

Carol sipped at the cup of coffee she was nursing, her free hand scratching the head of her dog, Lincoln as he sat at her feet. It was a quiet Tuesday morning just past nine o'clock in the morning, the Georgia heat hadn't broken yet. She'd already been up since five o'clock, having seen her husband off to work hours ago. Carol heard a loud truck pull up in the driveway just as Lincoln stood on his legs and began to park. Linc didn't bark often, he just barked at people he didn't know and that dog knew the sounds of her car and he knew the sounds of Ed's car. He knew this wasn't either of their cars.

"Linc, shh." Carol said and tugged on his collar as she stood to her feet. As she passed her counter, she set her coffee mug down on the tan counter top. She walked over to her door and peaked outside the window just in time to see someone climb out of the beaten down truck, a soft gasp escaping from her lips. "Daryl fuckin' Dixon." Carol said out loud, watching him from the window.

That's where she knew the voice. Carol knew Daryl Dixon, they had gone to high school together, they had classes together. They hadn't really been close friends, but Carol had considered him a friend. After high school, Carol had heard that Daryl had gotten in trouble with the law and had gone to jail, knew he had been the getaway driver when his brother robbed a store. Carol turned her attention back to him as he went around the back of his truck to get his toolbox. Damn, did he look good. Carol pulled the curtain shut and turned to look at her dog, shaking her head. She hadn't felt this attracted to a man in a very long time.

Linc's barking continued as there was a knock on the door and she shushed him again before opening the door and giving him a friendly smile.

Daryl recognized the woman almost immediately. He took a step back as he came face to face with Carol Austin – Carol Peletier now, the girl he'd spent his whole high school career obsessed with. Even twelve years after high school, she was still the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. He couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Ya called about a leak?" He asked, averting his eyes from hers. Carol smiled as he spoke and she took a step back to let him in the house.

"Both the kitchen and the bathroom sinks have been backed up all week. Cant figure out what's wrong with it." Carol said as he walked into the house, his toolbox in his hand. She led him into the house, Lincoln following her. Daryl walked past her and towards the sink, glancing back at Carol. He wondered briefly if she recognized him, knew about what he had done with Merle. "I haven't seen you since graduation, Daryl."

Shit, she recognized him. He shrugged as he knelt down in front of the sink, opening the cupboard so he could get to work in the kitchen. "Had some trouble. Went to jail for a while." There was no point in lying about his jail stay. It had happened, he couldn't deny it. It was common knowledge anyway, everyone knew both Dixons were in jail. Merle was still in jail.

Carol lifted herself up on her counter across from the sink, shrugging her shoulders as she picked up her coffee cup and brought it up to her lips. "I know, I heard about it." She said. He glanced up at her as he started to work on her sink. "So?" Carol set her hands on her legs and leaned back to watch Daryl work.

Daryl turned back to the sink as he continued to work on her sink. "So I was in jail."

She waved him off. "You were just the getaway driver, not like you actually robbed the place." Carol said. Daryl froze for a second, not having realized that she knew so much about what he had done. Carol bit down on her bottom lip, regretting what she had said. "Could have been in jail for worse." He shrugged and went back to the pipes he was working on.

"What 'bout ya? Life after high school good to ya?"

Carol tilted her head as she thought about the question. Was life after high school good to her? It wasn't _bad _to her, but it wasn't very _good _to her. Carol had met and married Ed Peletier while she was in college and while her marriage wasn't terrible, she wasn't happy. Her marriage was stale, there was no love there but Ed refused to give her a divorce. Ed believed that Carol's place was at home raising children but he didn't know when he asked her to marry him that she couldn't have kids. She still stayed at home, Ed refused to let her work despite the fact that she had a perfectly good Bachelor's degree in Education. "Both, I suppose. No career, no love in my marriage but my husband refuses to give me the divorce I've been asking for for years. But at least I have a house to live in and a Bachelor's degree."

Daryl gave a breathy grunt, which Carol took as a laugh.

"What about you? Meet one of those crazy girls that love prisoners?" She teased, taking another drink of her coffee. Another breathy grunt left his mouth.

"Nah. Those girls go for murderers, type of fuckers that would kill 'em the first chance they got." Daryl looked at her again before he turned back to the sink. "How long has this been backed up before you called?"

"A few days. My husband tried to fix it himself but.. He's useless at home repairs. Our house is half broken because of him. We've got busted windows, busted stairs, rooms we haven't been in in years because of him." Carol ran a hand through her short hair and shrugged. "Only reason he let me call is because we need our damn sinks."

Daryl knew what he was about to suggest was a terrible idea, but he suggested it anyways. "I have a few days off later in the week, I can give ya a hand. Pretty good with my hands."

Carol glanced down at the large, rough hands that were under her sink. "I bet you are." She said before she could even think about what she said. Daryl dropped the wrench that was in his hand and Carol let out a loud laugh, holding the mug in her hand. "Sorry." She said. Daryl turned back to his work and she let out a soft giggle, her eyes falling back to the hands underneath her sink.


	2. Chapter Two

**Originally I hadn't intended on uploading this yet, but I wanted to update this, so I just left it off right before anything good happened. Well, good things happened but not the way people want ;). **

**Anyway, thanks for the love on this one. I know, I'm an asshole for where I left if off, but once I finish the things I've been working on, I can get back to writing this one. I just wanted to give you all a little something.**

* * *

"We don't need some guy coming around and fixin' our house, I can do that." Ed grumbled Thursday morning as Carol poured him a mug of coffee.

Carol snorted and poured her own mug. "Ed, you can barely change a damn light bulb." She said to her husband, turning back to her counter and setting the pot of coffee in its place.

"We can't afford a damn handyman, Carol." He grunted.

"He said he'd do it for free." Of course Daryl hadn't said that, but he also hadn't said that he wouldn't. Carol could figure something out with him.

Ed watched his wife as she set a plate of toast in front of him. "Who is this guy, anyway?" She glanced back at him as she moved to sit at the table with him.

Carol rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of her toast. "Just a friend from high school, life wasn't as good to him as it always to you, Ed. Needs someone to believe in him again. I remember what that was like, needing someone to believe in you. Now eat your breakfast, you need to get to work." She said.

Ed Peletier continued to watch his wife as they ate breakfast, wondering what was so special about whoever this asshole was that Carol wanted to give him 'someone that believes in him again'. She never mentioned a name, but he was sure he could check out the bill from when he came out and fixed their sinks. Sinks ran fine now so supposed he could trust the man in his house. Wife wasn't anything special to look at, so he didn't have to worry about that.

Ed finished his lunch and left for work without bothering to kiss his wife, he hadn't kissed her in years. He knew as much as Carol did that their marriage was over, but he also knew that having a divorce would embarrass his family. He had stopped loving Carol years ago, but divorce was against his beliefs. Maybe once his parents died and it wouldn't embarrass his family, he could get that divorce. Until then, he'd have to deal with being in a loveless marriage.

Daryl Dixon stood at the front porch of Carol Peletier's house just after nine AM, still unsure what he was doing there. Why had he offered to take care of home improvement projects around her house? That was a stupid fuckin' thing to do.

Daryl knocked on the door and listened as he heard the dog barking loudly while he Carol move around in the house. The first thing he saw when the door opened was her strong calves, her thin knees and her small thighs. He swallowed as he looked up her bare legs and over her flat stomach, small round breasts and up to her face where a pleasant smile was on her face. She had definitely noticed the way he had looked at her, it set her skin on fire.

"Good morning." Carol smiled as she took a step back and let Daryl into the house. He walked into her house and stood awkwardly in her entry way as she shut the door then led him into her kitchen. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked, craning her head around her shoulder to glance back at him.

"Nah, m'good." Daryl said, his eyes almost immediately falling down to her ass as she turned back around.

Jesus, he didn't know if he was going to be able do this with the way she was looking at him.

While he worked on the projects, they talked. Mostly she talked and he offered up random questions or comments. All he had done in the past twelve years was sit in a jail cell, work out and try not to cause too much trouble. She told him about college, about her marriage to Ed. Daryl had tried not to look at her too much while they talked, every time he looked at her he couldn't help but let his eyes linger. She was as beautiful as he remembered.

They started at the bottom, the busted windows were in the basement; the door knobs were next, two downstairs and one upstairs. The last thing he took care of was the squeaky stairs.

She sat two stairs above him while he worked on the stairs and he couldn't help but glance up at her, look up her long legs. He knew she could see it, but he couldn't help but look up at her. He was thankful that his pants were loose, hopefully she couldn't tell how turned on he'd been for hours. Daryl almost couldn't wait to get home so he could take care of the issue he had.

Carol watched Daryl as he worked on her stairs, watched the way his arms moved in his sleeveless shirts. She didn't know if it was because of Daryl or because of the fact that it had been years since she'd been touched by a man but she was incredibly aroused right now. Carol bit down on her bottom lip, considering her words before she spoke.

"You know.. When we were in high school... I had the biggest crush on you." She admitted.

Daryl's hand slipped on the stairs and he looked up at her, swallowing thickly. Had she really just fuckin' said that? _She _had a crush on _him_? He swallowed and turned back to the stair. "Really?" He asked, refusing to look at her. Carol licked her lips and watched the way what she had said affected Daryl.

"Yes... You were.. This tough guy that could quote Hemingway. It was incredibly sexy." Carol admitted. He glanced up at Carol again, cursing under his breath.

Jeez, he never knew what to say in moments like these. He hadn't exactly had a lot of moments like these to deal with to know what he was supposed to say. What would his brother do? Actually, he shouldn't think at all what his brother would do. "Ya'd know 'bout sexy, right?" Daryl asked, wondering if that was the right thing to say. By the look on her face, it was.

"Oh?" She asked, feeling a blush creeping up on her face. Carol couldn't remember the last time that someone had called her sexy. Or even beautiful. Ed surely never called her anything like that, he never called her sexy, never called her beautiful. He never complimented her at all. He certainly never looked at her the way that Daryl looked at her. Carol remembered how Daryl was with being touched when they were in high school, knew that she was going to have to be careful with her next move. But she had to act on what she was about to, she had to.

Carol bit down on her bottom lip and she moved to sit on the step below her, the one right in front of him, pressing her feet into the step he was working on. He looked up at her as she did, his eyes widened slightly. She reached up and timidly touched the side of his face. Jesus, he couldn't do this. She was married, she belonged to someone else. Might be miserable with him, but she was still married.

"Can't... Yer married." Daryl mumbled. Carol's stomach ached when he spoke. She swallowed and considered her words.

"I think you want this as bad as I do." Carol said and set her hand on his shoulder. She didn't want to push him, but God she wanted this so bad, wanted _him._ She'd been thinking about him ever since she saw him climb out of his chair. "And I'm married, yeah. I'm not happy in it, I'm stuck. And I haven't been touched in probably six years by anyone but myself." Daryl glanced at her, thinking about what she said, thought about how she hadn't been touched by anyone but _herself_. Fuck, his cock twitched at the idea of watching her touch herself. "I don't wanna force you to... For-"

Daryl cut Carol off by pressing his lips into hers, wanting her to shut up. She gasped softly when his lips pressed against hers and a smirk formed on her face, she had known that he wanted this just as bad as she did it wasn't just her imagination. Her hand wrapped around the back of his neck to hold him in place as she returned his kiss. Daryl grasped the railing of the stairs to prevent himself from crashing down on her, she was tiny and he could easily crush her.

Carol bit down on Daryl's lip and gently tugged on his bottom lip, a grin forming on her face when a moan escaped from Daryl's lips. Their lips connected again and Carol's tongue trailed along his bottom lip, soothing where she had bitten. His mouth parted open and he let Carol explore his mouth, both of her hands around the back of his neck while his hands grasped the railings. As their kiss intensified in desperation, Carol's hands ran down his shoulder and his chest, nimble fingers grasping at the flannel shirt he was wearing. Carol wrapped her fingers into the collar of his shirt and pulled away from him, breathing heavily. He wasn't trying to move away, wasn't trying to pull away.

"Come with me." Carol whispered as she pulled herself up to her feet, pulled her hands away from his shirt and turned around, walking up the stairs. Daryl swallowed and watched her as she walked upstairs, his eyes staying on her ass until she was on the second floor. He followed her upstairs, taking two steps at a time.


End file.
